Psychology is, at the most, a "soft science." It is, really, more an art than anything else, at least for those who are truly good at it. All of the tests, diagnostics and labels are really an aside, mostly made up for insurance companies who, I think, frankly, should be outlawed.
But I digress.
I read about a study done, soon to be published in the Psychological Journal, which shows that name initials may influence grades.
First of all... someone's tax dollars somewhere, somehow, paid for this study to be done. That thought alone makes me ill.
Secondly... what!?! Are you freaking kidding me??
So you're saying, kids whose names start with a C or a D do more poorly in school than other kids? What about kids whose names start with E or F? Do they fail more? Oh my god, what about Z-named kids!?
*woppity woppity woppity* <---yeah, that's the sound of my head shaking in disbelief.
According to this study, "C's and D's do reliably worse than everyone else." Their conclusion? "This demonstrates the power of the unconscious mind in controlling behavior in certain situations."
Uh-huh.
Now, you watch, C and D names will drop off the "Top Baby Name" lists like flies, just like Baby Einstein tapes flew of the shelves a few years ago when they were doing "brain studies" on babies. Putting a BABY in front of a TV for hours to watch videos instead of interacting with them--THERE'S a good idea. For the maker of the videos, anyway!
There are some huge suppositions going on in this study here. As if our success in life is based on or influenced by an initial? As if success in life itself is based on school grades in the first place? I can't even begin to say what's wrong with this study... it's just... all kinds of wrong, all over the place!
And of course, the victims in all of this? The perfectly respectable C and D names out there. So much for David and Chloe and Destiny and Christopher! Now, thanks to the hard work and research of a few psychologists (*cough*) we're going to fill the world with more Amys and Brads.
Yep, studies like this one... just what the world needs more of!
Not!
2 comments:
I was thinking along the same lines as you when listening to the evening news last night.
:) So glad that there are others out there in my profession who acknowledge and love the art of doing therapy. Ahh. My classmates and I often talk of how it's better to train someone to be an outstanding therapist, because that will require her to be a good psychologist. However, training someone to be a good psychologist does not necessarily make him a good therapist.
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